Windows 8 Consumer Preview Presentation
February 29th, 2012I’m watching the live presentation that’s happening in Barcelona and it looks like Windows 8 is going to be using a cloud based log-in feature that is going to sync settings, and a lot of other stuff, across devices. I have no idea if there’s an opt out to let it function as a standalone client. It reminds me of domain sign on with Active Directory, but with the whole Metro “app” veneer out front.
You know what the purpose of domain sign on is with Active Directory, right? In short, it allows the system to be managed by someone other than the person using it. This is how PCs in corporations are managed. You can login on any PC in the organization and your personal desktop will load, you’ll have access to the same network shares and permission to execute whatever programs the IT people allow you to execute. If management chooses, they can record every keystroke or even capture video of your screen as you work. In other words, when you sign into that thing, everything you do can be monitored, the information that you can access and the programs that you can use can be changed at any time.
This is all old news in the corporate world.
But this Windows 8 presentation is geared toward regular home users…
Considering what we know about the Windows 8 Kill Switch, it’s going to be very interesting to see what else Microsoft is going to be capable of doing on systems that are running this thing.
Is it possible to use this OS without transmitting a whole lot of very personal information to Microsoft?
This entire presentation is very much reminiscent of Apple’s vending machine take on computing in iOS, and increasingly in MacOS. Windows 8 looks a bit different, but the core functions, and dire privacy implications seem pretty similar to me.
Update: The Verge Sums It Up
I love it. This is it, in a nutshell:
Decisions, decisions...
Am I really going to have to migrate to Linux just to keep my own *&/#><: computer?